Florida public high school football players got baptized on a school field last month, which has sparked a First Amendment debate on freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

Brevard Public Schools said the baptisms took place July 18 after an off-season football conditioning session at Astronaut High School in Titusville, Florida Today reported. Titusville is just under an hour east of Orlando and a few miles west of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

'I could not be more proud that 25 young adults gave their lives to Christ and the kingdom grows! ... The community is overwhelmingly rejoicing with these young adults! God will use it for good!'

Video of one of the baptisms shows a player sitting in a metal tank filled with water. A man tells the player he's going to baptize him "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The man then dips the player's head backward into the water, and pulls his head back up again as he tells the player, "Risen in new life." The crowd around the tank then applauds.

The caption of the Instagram post containing the video indicated that 25 players were baptized. The post drew a number of comments as well; one commenter asked, "Why is religion making its way into schools? This isn’t a religion school ... Hmm. I don’t like this." Another commenter declared, "That is awesome. Praise God!"

Brevard Public Schools didn't know about the baptisms until Monday, Florida Today reported, citing district spokesperson Janet Murnaghan.

"The event was not a school sponsored activity," Murnaghan said. "It’s our understanding that it was student driven."

The post's caption also said Brevard School Board chair Megan Wright's church performed the baptisms, and that 25 players took the plunge.

Florida Today said Wright didn't respond to its request for comment but noted that she said on her personal Facebook page that while she had "no part" in the baptisms, the moment was a happy one.

Megan WrightImage source: Brevard (Fla.) School Board website

"I could not be more proud that 25 young adults gave their lives to Christ and the kingdom grows!" Wright wrote, according the paper. "... The community is overwhelmingly rejoicing with these young adults! God will use it for good!"

Florida Today said Astronaut High Athletic Director Matthew Ahlstedt declined to comment.

Anything else?

July's baptisms were far from the first time such an event took place:

When two student-athletes were baptized on a Tennessee public high school football field in August 2019, a "concerned area resident" got in touch with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which in turn fired off a letter demanding the district "stop promoting and endorsing religion to students."
A few months prior, the FFRF objected after a video depicted "several football players" being baptized on Alabama public school property.
The FFRF prevailed in September 2015 when a Georgia school district acknowledged that an event during which more than a dozen football players were baptized on public school property violated official policy.

(H/T: OutKick)

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Video: US Marines show Coach Prime's University of Colorado football players how intense a workout can get

Video captured U.S. Marines showing Deion Sanders' University of Colorado football players this week just how intense an off-season workout can get, BroBible said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What are the details?

The outlet said things kicked off with a 6 a.m. wake-up call and then some pep talks.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

But things were far from rah-rah, as the outlet said one of the Marines told the college players they were in for a “taste of the Marine Corps.”

Indeed.

A 45-minute video captured the Marines putting the players through a "combat fitness test" with physical challenges that included "maneuver under fire, ammo can presses, air squats" as well as wind sprints.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The training session ended with an exercise called the “Buddy” during which players carry teammates over a specified distance, the outlet said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The message from the Marines for the day was about trust and accountability, the outlet added.

How are folks reacting?

A number of commenters underneath the accompanying video enjoyed watching the players be put through arguably a lot more physical intensity than they're accustomed to:

"This will take the players to another level of discipline," one commenter said.
"Man, I been waiting for something like this," another commenter declared. "The culture about to change for real! Semper Fi Marines!"
"As a veteran this whole video is hilarious," another commenter said. "You can see the thoughts come across their faces that we all had during basic."
"Thank you to the Marines for their service home and abroad," another commenter said. "As a daughter of a Marine turned 82nd Airborne Ranger, I know first hand that this was just a [speck] of what they train through. Kudos to the coaching team for bringing this to the Buffs. They will be better for it! Great work guys!"

Here's the video of the session. Content warning: Language:

Colorado Football EXTREME Marine Training! youtu.be

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To Prevent Tragedies Like The UVA Murders, Focus On Broken Families Not Firearms

As they argue for gun control, pundits leave out parts of the story that point to other deeper crises in our American social fabric.

Washington Post blasted for UVA shooting story's initial headline saying suspected gunman 'had troubled childhood, but then flourished'

The Washington Post was blasted on social media Monday over the initial headline of a University of Virginia shooting story that said the suspected gunman — accused of fatally shooting three players on the school's football team and wounding two other students — had a "troubled childhood, but then flourished."

\u201cThis is a real headline from the Washington Post\u201d
— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1668443234

The headline appeared to have been changed sometime after 12:10 p.m. Monday to read, "Suspected U-Va. gunman was scrutinized by threat assessment team for weapon, police say."

The Post's story indicated it was updated at 12:15 p.m. as well as at 1:15 p.m., but there are no notes in the story describing what was updated.

The Post on Monday told TheBlaze in a statement that "the headline was changed following the press conference when new information was learned. This is a developing story."

'You've gotta be kidding'

A number of folks on Twitter were none too pleased with the wording of the Post's original headline, which described suspect Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. as having "flourished" after going through a "troubled childhood."

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips tweeted, "Just an unbelievable headline from the Washington Post about the mass shooter at UVA. You've gotta be kidding ..."

Rob Eno, media critic for BlazeTV, mocked the Post by saying that "democracy also dies when you hide former headlines without even [an] editors note ... To the rest of you, this is a textbook case of the media lying to you."

Others agreed:

"So yea whoever wrote this headline should be fired," one commenter said. "Didn’t realize flourishing meant murdering people. Washington Post at it again."
"Talk about a bizarre headline," another user reacted. "Is he gonna 'flourish' in prison?"
"With headlines like this, you'll put @TheBabylonBee out of business," another commenter told the Post. "This is @Salon level stupidity."
"One of the most disgusting headlines I have ever seen printed," another user declared. "Shame on you @washingtonpost."
"This guy allegedly murdered three people and shot five total, and the @washingtonpost describes him as a guy who 'flourished.' Pathetic," another commenter said.

Anything else?

Jones — a former player on the school's football team — was taken into custody Monday following a manhunt of more than 13 hours after the shooting on the Charlottesville campus, the Associated Press reported. Jones was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, ESPN said.

The players who were fatally shot have been identified as junior receiver Lavel Davis Jr. of Dorchester, South Carolina, junior receiver Devin Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina, and junior defensive end/linebacker D'Sean Perry of Miami, school President Jim Ryan said during a Monday news conference, ESPN said.

\u201cAll three of the UVA shooting victims are football players:\n\nDevin Chandler (from Virginia Beach)\n\nD'Sean Perry\n\nLavel Davis\u201d
— Dan Kennedy 13News Now (@Dan Kennedy 13News Now) 1668441880

Ryan said two other unidentified students were shot and hospitalized, the sports network reported, adding that Ryan said one student was in good condition, and the other was in critical condition.

The shooting took place on a charter bus that had returned to campus after students attended a play in Washington, D.C., as part of a class field trip, Ryan said, according to ESPN.

Heroic HS football players rush to wrecked car as smoke pours from hood — and rescue woman trapped inside: 'These kids really did run right into danger'

A group of Georgia high school football players didn't hesitate last week when they spotted a wrecked car and ran over to help, only to find a woman driver trapped inside — and smoke pouring from the vehicle's hood.